


The Honorable Avatar

by lovingavatar27



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 13:43:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2193924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingavatar27/pseuds/lovingavatar27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lian has been on her own for as long as she remembers. Though she does have her trusty companion Shira to keep her company. Lian's world has been thrown into chaos long before she was born. She doesn't know any different. The Red Lotus has accomplished their goal, the natural order of the world is chaos. Avatar Korra is no where to be heard of, and many believe her spirit has been destroyed. But in every uprising there are those who hope, and think not everything is lost. Along with old friends and new friends, Lian must balance the world to its great glory that it once was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Avatar Lian

I’m afraid to get out from under the bed. They are looking for me. The nice lady that took me in, isn’t nice anymore. I just blew some air from my hands, that’s normal. The old lady down the street said so. She called it bending, but I don’t know what I bend. 

“Lian!” The kind lady with black hair screams my name. I clench my hands, I don’t want to blast air in her face anymore. I don’t want to splash water on the others kids here anymore. And I don’t want to burn my food with a blow. I don’t want to leave my footprints in the hard ground. I don’t know why its happening to me, but I know that is why the nice lady is angry at me. I’m sorry. I really am, I’ll try to never do it again. I promise to not bend anymore. 

I see the lady’s face peak under the bed, I’ve been caught. The lady grabs my hands, and pulls me from under the bed. She drags me along the big house full of parentless children like me. For as long as I remember I’ve never even had parents.

“Lian, how old are you?” She asks me as she finally sits me in the long kitchen table. 

“I’m five, but I don’t really know my birthday,” I tell her. I’m really trying to not sound so scared, but I knew something was wrong. The kind lady just took me in a week ago, I never even got to know her name. 

“Five, but you do know what you did wrong don’t you. If I report you to the head masters they won’t let you live anymore. I won’t tell them who you are, but you can’t stay here anymore, you understand right?” She takes my hands again, but this time they don’t tug me along they just feel warm around my cold ones. 

“I don’t think I understand. Why can’t I stay here. I don’t want to go back to the streets. Please miss can’t I stay?” I cry. I just want a bed to sleep in and food to eat. I don’t want to be so cold and alone anymore. 

“I can’t let you stay. I’m sorry, but being the avatar isn’t so honorable as it used to be,” She says quietly. 

“What is avatar?” I ask. She puts her finger to my lips. I don’t say another word. She packs me some clothes to keep me warm at night and food to last me a few days if I don’t eat too much. My stomach growls very loud. I try not to laugh, the kind lady smiles at me. I laugh, feeling the sadness go away a little bit, but I was sad to leave. One place like this to another. I don’t think I’ll find another place like this one in this city.

“Ba Sing Sae is a big place Lian. Make sure you never use your powers again, no matter what. Got it?” She pats my head before she pushes me gently outside. The door slams shut, I see my friends wave goodbye from the window.

“Wait!” I hear someone say. I see my friend Kuo run outside the door. He was just two years older than me, but he’s been staying here longer than anyone. He was the first person to talk to me when I got here last week. He was a really nice friend, I feel sad again. I don’t want to leave him. He was crying too.

“I want to give you something,” he says. Kuo Pulls a necklace from his pocket. It was really pretty. A big leather strap and a crystal hung from the middle. Waves were carved on it. 

“It was my mommy’s when she was still alive. I want you to have it, so when I grow big and strong I’ll know its you when I see it. I’ll grow and then we won’t ever have to be separated again,” He smiles. I smile because there were buggers running down his nose. He snaps it around my neck, it was really big around me, but I liked it. 

We hook our pinkies. Its a promise. I look at him, I want to remember what he looks like, so I can find him when I grow up too. Brown hair, brown eyes, and darker skin than mine. Shaggy hair, and big hands for a little boy. I check all of them, and cross my heart. We’ll find one another someday.  
\--------()()()--------- 

I touch my neck, I wake in the sun once again. Three years have gone since I was thrown in the streets again. Well at least I think its three years. I’m not certain, but I sure have grown out of the clothes I carried. Stealing from posts were hard when it was only one of me. 

But I’m not alone, I have my buddy, Shira. She’s an Armadillo Lion. But now’s she’s a big cat, when I found her she was just a little baby. She’s grown more than I have. 

“Excuse my young lady but what are you doing here?” 

Shira growls as an older man walks out from his door. I thought this alley would be a great place to get some down time before I rassle something to eat. 

“Shira, no. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll just get out of you way,” I tell the man. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

“I’m sure you are hungry little lady. My wife was just making breakfast, I’m sure she won’t mind making one more plate,” the man offers. Shira whimpers. The older man laughs. 

“I’m sorry, two more plates. We have a big yard in the back, I’m sure Shira will enjoy running around without being too careful,” the man tells me. I don’t know if I could trust him, but my stomach decides for me. Shira follows him first, and that is when I let my guard down just a bit. Shira’s instincts haven’t been wrong yet. I did want a cooked meal. I follow the man inside, leaving the door just a bit open in case I need to leave quickly. 

I smell meat cooking immediately, the house is clean and well put together, far from what is normal around here. Stealing wasn’t unusual, not since there is no one running the city anymore. Sometimes I hear the men talk about the time of the father’s, there was a queen and rings. That was just forty years ago. But to me it didn’t matter I’ve gotten used to it. And Shira is ferocious, I trust her with my life.

There is a short woman cooking in front of the oven. She was old too, her hair was turning gray like the man’s. But she wore a smile on her face, when she saw me. She was a plump lady, but I felt better when I see the extra plate at the table. 

“Hello there. My husband was right, you do look like my daughter when she was your age. Let me guess you’re eight,” She chuckles. 

“What happened to her?” I ask, and sit down at the table. 

“She died in a house fire. She would have been such a beautiful lady, now eat up. I hate to see children out and about in the streets,” She serves me some scrambled eggs, and gave Shira her serving too. 

I stared at the old man and the old woman, they are kind people. I almost cry again, but I am too hungry to think about their hospitality. 

“What is your name?” The old man asks me. 

“Lian. I don’t know my last name though.”

“What is your’s?” I ask him and gulp down my juice.

“Just call me grandpapi,” He smiles and winks at me. I laugh, that is a silly name. Maybe he doesn’t a have a last name like me, or maybe he doesn’t even have a name at all. 

“And call me grandma,” the old woman says from the kitchen. I nod. At least this name was a normal one. I eat two whole plates of food, and I’ve never felt so good. 

“Lian would you like a bath?” Grandma asks me. I nod. I follow her to the bathroom, where she sets the water for me. Shira stays right outside the door, she’s never too far from me. 

“I’ll leave some clean clothes on the toilet, feel free to call me if you need anything.”

I clean in the warm water. Why were they being so nice to me? I’m just a stranger. I’m so confused. No one has ever been so nice to me, well Kuo was nice, but I haven’t seen him a long time. When I get out of the shower I put on the clothes Grandma left me, they were perfect for me. There was no holes and the covered more than half of my arms and legs. I clip back on the necklace Kuo gave me. 

I go outside and follow my way back to the kitchen. Grandpa was gone, but Grandma was cleaning the plates. 

“Grandma, um thank you for the food, the clothes, and the bath, but I think I should get going,” I tell her. It felt great to be here but this wasn’t my home. 

“Just a minute, here lets sit in the living room,” She says and dries her hand. Her blue apron covers the floral dress she wears. A few strands fall from her bun, I think about my own hair. I wish I could have a sun like her’s. I sit down next to her, she sighs. 

“Lian do you live on the streets, or was it just a one time thing?” She asks me. Shira is asleep at my feet, she looks peaceful for once. 

“I’ve been living like this for years. I think I was five when I was kicked out of the place for children like me,” I tell her. Grandma takes my hands in her big warm ones. 

“Would you like to stay here with Grandpapi, and me. We’ll take care of you, and Shira. You won’t have to go hungry anymore.” 

“Why do you want me to stay? I’ve been to many places for homeless children but I never stay too long. I’m not the most safe person to stay around,” I tell her. The last lady told me that I was something called avatar. 

“You have a strong heart, I know for sure. My daughter and you are so similar its uncanning. You’re more timid, but that is to be expected. I lost my daughter at a very young age, I could be a real grandmother right now, but I didn’t have a chance. Grandpapi and I tried to have another baby, but it never worked, and now I know why. We were meant to raise you, I want you to stay to keep you safe,” She squeezes my hand, “Plus grandpapi caught you bending in your sleep. You’re the Avatar, and your our hope.”


	2. A Hot Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Chapter two: A Hot Birthday

“Lian, dear would you go get a few eggs from the corner stall, their the freshest,” Grandma yells from the kitchen. I Get up from my bedroom, its been mine for nine years now. I know this house with my eyes closed. Right next to my room is the bathroom, and on the other side is the living room. Across the hall is Grandma and Grandpapi’s bedroom. I can hear grandpapi’s snores every night, even over the thunder of the thunderstorms that we rare here in Ba Sing Sae. 

“Shira come,” I say as I put my shoes on. Today was my birthday, I turn seventeen, even though it might not actually be my birthday today, I don’t mind I spend it with Grandma and Grandpapi, like any birthday. Shira has grown bigger, if that is possible, now she can run at full speed with me on her back. I’ll say she’s faster than any animal out there. 

I shrug on my jacket on, it was chilly this winter morning. I see Grandma rummaging through her bag for the money. In this small part of Ba Sing Sae, is the only part left with order. Our small community chose to stay together and not fall with the disorder of the world. Grandpapi told me that it was all because of the Red Lotus that destroyed balance years ago before I was born. Its unreal to imagine the world with order when I have only seen this small part of town. 

“Lian, honey, Happy Birthday, oh my you’re going to be an adult very soon. I can’t believe you’re seventeen years old today. Where has the time gone? I mean look at you. You were so small and fragile but now you’re strong and beautiful. You’ve developed into a very mature woman,” Grandma tugs me in. Crushing me with her big arms. I can feel her tears soak my shoulder. The top of her head was just at my shoulder. 

“I know, and its all because of you and Granpapi. Thank you, now let me go get those eggs. Then we can spend all morning crying. Where is Grandpapi?”

“He’s out back, picking the lychee nut tree, for fresh juice. He’ll be in a minute, but make sure to get the best eggs for breakfast.”

“I know, I’ll be off,” 

“Wait Lian!” I hear Grandpapi say. He walks in from the back yard. Grandpapi gives me my happy birthday hug. 

“Be careful, remember no bending at all. If it is necessary only use earthbending and keep that water tribe necklace hidden under your scarf. I feel uneasy these past couple of days,” Grandpapi patts my shoulders and tugs my green scarf closer to my neck. The necklace Kuo gave me years ago now fit perfectly around my neck. 

Grandma told me it was a betrothal necklace, but I’m sure Kuo didn’t purpose to me that night. We just promised each other we’ll find one another one day when we both become strong. Now I’m simply waiting for that day to come. I’m sure he’s doing great.

I nod. I know that I’m not supposed to use bending, not with the Red Lotus always hunting for the avatar. Grandpapi said that there has been countless of reborn avatars, but they die young because the Red Lotus take care of it. I can’t imagine the power they must have to do that. Grandma is a waterbender, and Grandpapi is an earthbending. They’ve taught me quite a few tricks, but I’m far from being a master like the stories my Grandpapi tell me. 

I’ve learned about Avatar Aang and his journey to end the hundred year war. I’ve learned about Avatar Korra and all of the challenges she had to face. Sometimes I wonder if I am just being a coward and hiding. Sometimes I doubt that I am the Avatar, but then I bend all four elements and that doubt vanishes. I hop onto Shira and we walk among the few down the street. 

The spirits used to keep me company when I was a little girl, but everything just became more chaotic and they fled to somewhere more peaceful. I want to go to a place where I don’t have to worry about being mugged walking from one corner to another. If I could I would, but I can’t leave the two people I love behind. They’ve taken me in and cared for me, and now that they are getting older I need to tend to their needs. Its the right thing to do, plus they’ve risked their lives to keep my secret. A secret that only three people know, them two and that nice lady from the time that I was five. 

It was a scary thought that always bugs me. At night when I try to get some rest that thought of the Red Lotus coming to hunt me down keeps me awake. No one knows, I’m sure. Being the avatar isn’t so honorable anymore. I’ll remember those words forever. I get to the booth where I buy the eggs just like grandma instructed me. Shira waits for me as I pick the eggs, well I thought she was waiting for me, but I see her run towards the border line. 

It was the line of our small community, there were a few guards to keep out, but really no one cared who left. As long as there was order here in our community, the people who were in here didn’t matter. It could be fire nation people, or earth, or water, or air nomads if they still traveled on their routes. 

I made sure the eggs were secure and I run after her. Who knows what trouble is out there, and I don’t want to find out. Especially if Shira gets into any trouble, I can’t afford to lose her, she’s been there for me longer than anyone else. I see her tail disappear around the corner, heading straight to the border line. I let the eggs fall to the ground, I had to get to her.

I run as fast as my legs could carry me, I skid as I round the corner. My heart races up to my throat. Shira stood in the middle of the street, she wasn’t chasing an animal, she was following her instincts. The horizon was glowing red, a deep blood red, fire was coming. The Red Lotus was coming to destroy this organized community. To them this was not the natural order of the world. It went against their monarchy. Which I found unusual, they do not want to be organized, yet they have their own organization. This was just another hundred year war waiting to happen. But now it wasn’t just the fire nation attacking.

“Shira!” I yell her name. She quickly returns to my side. I have to warm Grandma and Grandpapi. The heat of the burning buildings was coming closer, enough that people were beginning to leave their houses with arms and backs full of their things. 

I hop onto Shira’s back and race back to the house. I was beginning to hear screams and falling wood in the background. We can outrun this fire, I have to believe that. I’ll have to bend us around the fire if I need to, but I’m not too good at fire bending. I’m not a bending master in any categories, like an Avatar should be. I’m not Avatar material, if I was then I wouldn’t be running. I would be facing the Red Lotus. I would be balance in the world, but it feels like the people don’t need the Avatar anymore. Disorder was easier to maintain than order. I run into the house, seeing Grandpapi already gathering the things he treasures the most. 

Grandma on the other hand sat in the living room with her arms crossed. 

“Don’t be stubborn. We can’t stay here. You’ll burn to death if you don’t get moving,” I hear Grandpapi yell to Grandma. She didn’t want to leave this house. It was her home after all, and for a short time it was mine as well. But safety was the most important right now.

“I am not leaving this house. I put much work into this house, and if it is burned to the ground, then I will burn with it! You can’t make me move!” She yells back. I run to my bedroom and stuff my clothes into my two pillow cases. I grab Shira’s satchel and stuff that with dry foods. 

“I don’t care if Shira has to drag you out of here, I’m not going to let you die,” Grandpapi tells her. I tie my pillow cases to Shira’s satchel, before I help Grandpapi gather Grandma’s things. 

“Don’t you dare touch my things. You two know I don’t like people touching my things,” She was getting angrier. 

“Plus I’m a waterbender, I can extinguish the fire myself,” She defends herself.

“That is precisely why you can’t waterbend. The Red Lotus will not tolerate anyone who defines them, the natural order is the powerful preys on the weak. Listen to me! We are the weak, you can’t go against them. And is they find out Lian is the Avatar, her life will be in danger. We can’t risk that, not now, not ever,” Grandpapi seriously tells her. I see Grandma look at me, then she looks at the house. She sighs, I know that she agrees with Grandpapi. She’s surrendered. But not to Grandpapi, to the Red Lotus. For now, she’ll move out of their way, but I can feel all the hatred of the Red Lotus in her bottle up. One day it will explode. 

“The Red Lotus took my daughter last time they burned my house, I don’t want to happen again. Lets get going,” She says quietly. I can feel my throat squeeze, this has happened to them already. I wish I could fight for our home, but I can’t. For once I wish I was the master of all four elements. So I could stop the destruction so I can really protect my family. 

“Next time they come Grandma, I won’t run. I’ll stand my ground and fight,” I tell her as tie more pillowcases to Shira’s satchel. I throw a couple blankets over Shira’s back. She grunts by the weight, but I pet her head. Just bear it for a little bit, girl. We rush out to the streets, the fire has progressed quickly, it consumed the houses just a thirty feet from out own house. It felt like were the last ones here. 

“Come on, we need to start running,” I tell them. “Shira think you can carry them?” I ask her. She whimpers. Its too much weight for her. I untie the pillow cases and carry them myself. I can run, as long as they get out of here. Grandpapi and Grandma get on her back, and hang on to the satchel, I run beside Shira as fast as I could. Shira was slowing down her pace for me in five minutes when my breathing began to get heavier. I haven’t ran this much in a long time it reminds me of the time when I was on my own. I was always running from trouble. The fire was behind us and the edge of the other side of the community was still a bit way to go. 

If we were going to outrun the fire, I had to run faster, but my lungs were aching so much. I hear Shira hiss before I feel the ground beneath me rumble. Next thing I know I feel myself fall, and hit the ground again. Shira is growling, as I stand up. I make sure Grandpapi and Grandma are okay, before I see my surroundings. We were underground. I look up, there was no hole from where we fell from, but I can hear the drum of the fire above us. The heat was still intense down here. 

“I’m glad to see that you are all safe,” a man says. I see many of them, women, men, children, people of all ages huddled there. Some were dirty with ash and others wore uniforms. I have my fists up as soon as I see the Lotus sign.

“Oh no, please do not be alarmed, we are the White Lotus,” The man says. He keeps his hands up. White Lotus? Grandpapi never told me anything about them. This was a birthday to remember. I’m guessing that I won’t be able to cut the cake tonight. 

“Lian its a pleasure to finally meet you,” the same man says. The men in the White Lotus uniform bow their heads.

“How do you know my name?” I say. What if they are the Red Lotus in disguise. What if they know I’m the Avatar. Will I die today, on my seventeenth birthday?

“Grandpapi?” I ask him, feeling the panic swell in me. 

“Don’t worry deary, I was a White Lotus member when I was young and strong,” Grandpapi tells me. How come he has never mentioned it? 

“Avatar Lian, we have been waiting for the right moment to reveal the hidden society to you. I’m sure that you will try your best to balance the world,” The man says. 

I look at Grandpapi. They know. They know I am the Avatar, how long have they known? Did Grandpapi and Grandma only take me in because I was the Avatar. Was this all part of the plan?

I can’t help but feel a bit used. I need an explanation. My heart raced, I was scared to know, just like I was scared to truly become the hope millions want.


	3. Order and Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I've been busy and not confident with my writing. Have you guys seen the finale? Its sad that its over but I'm glad I got to experience LOK.

My grandparents follow the man of the White Lotus that I have yet to know their names. It was a labyrinth down here, even if the Red Lotus did find us here, it would be difficult to find the center of the maze, which we were standing in. I once heard of earthbenders who feel the earth, those benders would be able to find anyone in minutes. Hopefully there were no earthbenders like that in the Red Lotus. 

“Avatar Lian, I am sure that this is all a bit overwhelming, but there must be improvement to the way this world is going. The Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom are in chaos. The last Fire Lord died of old age and no new lord was appointed. As you can see the kingdom has been in disarray for decades. I believe it is time that the Avatar began training for your destiny,” The old man tells me. I don’t move forward anymore.

“Wait just a minute. Today is my seventeenth birthday and I just want to get through it. Another thing, I don’t want to be the Avatar. I know about the other Avatars, they are killed at a young age. I for one want to live a bit longer. And no one can decide my destiny. Not you or my grandparents,” I stand my ground. Grandpapi sighs.

“Lian, look I know you must feel scared right now, but look at the world. I was born in an ordered world. One with kings and lords, and order. I had a great childhood. But just when I was going to begin my life on my own, it all goes downhill. I don’t want you to live in a world like that. You should have the luxury of walking down the street, laughing with friends, and finding that special someone. That is all we want for you,” He says.

“Well I can’t. I’m the Avatar I can’t walk down the streets and laugh with friends because I don’t have friends! That is not in the cards for me! The life I want is to be by your side and live a quiet life.”

“We won’t be around for too long honey. The Avatar must fulfill her duties. Avatar Korra saved our world more than once, and she risked her life to try to keep balance in the world. Her journey is not over. You’re her legacy. Please this is what must be done. Do the right thing, honey,” Grandma says. 

“Don’t compare me grandma. She’s an Avatar that will be remembered for generations and I am just a person that will be forgotten like the other Avatars that died so young. I won’t be making a difference,” I feel the tears beginning to fall from my eyes. 

“You feel alone don’t you? Like you have to do everything perfectly. Lian being the Avatar is so much more than that,” Grandpapi and grandma smoothe their hands over my back. Trying to comfort me, but he was right. There is only one avatar in the world, no one else can help me. 

“You are wrong, you aren’t alone,” Someone says. I wipe my eyes and see a tall man with a fireball in his hand. His hair was gray and black in places, and it was pulled back. His eyes were golden and the wrinkles were deep with many years of experience. 

“Lian, you are not alone. In there, you have Avatar Korra with you. Her spirit too, Raava. Korra’s experiences are in you, you just need to find it behind your fear, doubt, and selfishness,” The man points at my chest, where my heart was. I touch it, I don’t feel her. Avatar Korra should be here for me, but she isn’t. I can’t feel her.

“How do you know she really is in me? I don’t feel her, maybe the Avatar cycle really is over.”

He shakes his head, “Its not broken. I feel her in you. I feel Korra’s love for the world and her fear of being alone in you. She’s there.”

“Mako, sir, what a surprise to see you here. How did you find us?” The man in the white lotus uniform asks the man.

“Like I said. I felt Korra and followed it.” He smiles at me. “I’ve been searching for you Avatar.”

He bows. So his name was Mako and he’s a firebender that has been looking for me. He knows so much about the Avatar, he must have known Avatar Korra. 

“Are you here to kill me?” I can barely make out the words. He laughs. 

“No, of course not. I’m here to teach you firebending. It is the first element you must learn after all. I made Avatar Korra a promise. I was going to protect you and guide you along your journey. I finally found you,” Mako smiles. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking into me, searching for something. The past Avatar or for my doubts. He was keeping that promise to her. I couldn’t help but agree. He searched for the Avatar all of these years, but he was always too late. But now he’s found me and I can’t turn him down. I don’t want to be the reason why he can’t keep his promise to Avatar Korra. And I don’t want to be the reason there are decades of chaos in the future. The Hundred year war before Avatar Korra’s arrival was devastating. The Fire Nation was just in the same position the Red Lotus are now. 

I won’t have to do it on my own anymore. I’ll have Mako to guide me, and I feel that I can trust him. I didn’t see anything that didn’t tell me to be suspicious.

“Okay, I’ll go with you. As long as I take Shira,” I tell him. He nods, Shira rubs my side, she knew were going somewhere. 

“Are we leaving now?” I ask Mako. 

“Yes. We must get out of the tunnels and away from here quickly. I have a few friends waiting for me on the other end of the tunnel,” Mako says. I feel my stomach drop, so I was leaving now. Who knew when I would see Grandpapi and Grandpa.

“Are you going to get going or what?” Grandma tells me with a sad smile.

“Where are you two going to go?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll find you one way or another. Family always finds each other. For now we’ll lie low here and when the chaos has dimmed, we’ll go to the air nomads in hiding. I have my ways of knowing,” Grandpapi winks. For once more I hug them like my life depended on it. I can feel the tears from Grandma soak my shoulder.

“I’ll miss you,” Grandma says, which make my heart crack a bit more.

“Me too,” I tell them.

“I know you will be a great Avatar. You can do anything,” Grandma tells me. I nod my head, ya I’ll try to live up to the world’s expectations. I unload Grandpapi’s and Grandma’s things from Shiru’s back. 

“We probably won’t be seeing this place in a very long time,” I whisper to Shiru. She whimpers and rubs her head into my stomach. We’re going to miss our small community. Mako stood to the side, waiting for me to leave the life I know behind and start a new one. I look back once more and wave before I follow the firebender through the confusing maze. 

“How do you know where we are going. Its a maze down here,” I ask Mako. 

“My brother built these walls, I helped design the maze, so I know exactly where to go. I have created hundreds of safe haven like these for people who still believed in order,” he answers me. Hundreds of places like this one, I guess our small community wasn’t the only one who wanted order again. Hundreds wanted order but I suppose that I do have many reasons to help this world.

He continue to walk aimlessly for about twenty minutes before Mako stops in front of a wall. He tells me to stand back so I do so, Shira stays with me. Mako slams his palm on the rock three times, then two more, and after a short pause five times. I hear the rumble and then I see light shine from the moving rock. Someone must have bend the earth to let us out, someone Mako must know. 

Mako leads the way outside. I look around to see that we have made it outside the what used to be towering walls of Ba Sing Sae. 

“Hey Bolin, thanks for waiting for us out here,” Mako tells the man in green clothes. He looked a little like Mako, I had a feeling they were siblings, but I didn’t want to assume anything. 

“Ya no problem. So how did it go?” He asks. He hasn’t even take notice of me yet, he doesn't look old enough to have bad vision.

“What do you think, I found her of course. Bolin meet, Avatar Lian,” Mako says and introduces me. I bow and see the expression he has. His mouth had dropped a mile long and his eyes widen like leamer eyes.

“THE Avatar,” He whispers. I couldn’t help but smile at his lost of words. It was nothing to be speechless about, I was just the Avatar, nothing but a person who has a bounty on my head. I see another figure jump soundlessly from behind a large rock. She wore orange and yellow robes, but the blue arrows gave away her identity. She must be an airbending master. Her head was shaved at midway, like I saw in the history book Grandpapi used to show me. He knew so much about all of the cultures. 

“We’re clear out back, Oh my you must be the Avatar. Finally, we have been searching for you for years,” She smiles and bows. “My name is Jinora,” she says. She tucks a piece of her medium length hair behind her ears. 

“I have heard stories from my Grandfather about your assistance with Avatar Korra. Your father is a great Master I have heard,” I tell her.

“Yes, he is unfortunately too old to travel long distance. His age is catching up to him,” She teases him. I nod, I have heard that Master Tenzin was coming to the end of his long journey, he too guided Avatar Korra through her life. Grandpapi knew so much about the Avatar and her journey, it made me wonder just how he knew and how he had stories of her. How did he get them? Maybe he wrote them himself.

“We should get going before any enemies spot us out here in the open, we’ll need to quickly get out of here, and cross the desert before he reach our safe hideout,” Master Jinora says. Mako nods, and finally Bolin snaps out of his astonishment and follows his brother’s lead. I follow the group to other side of the large boulder. I see a gigantic animal resting there, a flying bison. I never thought that I would see one in person. 

“This is Appa, my flying bison. The plan it to get out of the Earth Kingdom underground, with Bolin bending earth out of the way. After we reach the dessert we’ll take Appa and I’ll airbend to create a sandstorm to cover us. That’ll keep enemies from spotting us so easily,” Master Jinora tells me. 

“I’m not sure if Shiru is comfortable flying. She’s more secure on the ground, she can run as fast as the flying bison, I’m sure,” I tell her. I can feel Shiru’s nervousness in the air. She whimpered quietly besides me. I pet her trying to ease her anxiety. 

“As long as she sticks with us I don’t have a problem with her running, but there are spirits and dangerous animals living in the sand of the desert. It is your call Avatar,” She says. I nod, I’ll let Shiru do what she is more comfortable with. We made our way through the ground, I felt a little helpless, I could help Bolin bend this earth out of our way, but I still didn’t have the skills to do what he does. We make our way to the desert and get on Appa. Shiru gingerly tries out the bison, resting her head on my lap. She wanted to fall asleep before we began flying. Though Shiru doesn’t like flying, she hates leaving my side more, so she flew with me. 

I watched Master Jinora bend the air around us. She created a massive tornado which covered us completely. 

“If we had a waterbender we could have created a cloud as our cover,” I hear Jinora say. 

“That would have been easier, but we’ll make do. We’re disconnected from the water tribes, so its hard to get our hands on a waterbender these days.” Mako says as he looks at the wind around us.

“Since Unalaq was associated with the Red Lotus, much of the waterbenders decided to become red lotus members. We’re facing a dilemma for your training Lian. We don’t have a waterbending master, not since Kya passed away years ago. We’ll find one by the end of your training, water is the last element you will learn. First it will be earth, then fire, then air, and last water,” Mako says. 

“And I will be your earthbending teacher, Mako your firebending instructor, and Jinora your airbending teacher,” Bolin tells me. I’m glad that they are my teachers, I don’t want to be handed to a stranger stranger for my training. I have trust in these three, and I will do everything I can to make this world balanced once again. 

“Thank you for teaching me.” I bow my head to them. I hear Jinora laugh.

“You won’t be too grateful after training with those two.”

The three banter like the three friends that they are. I pet Shira to a slumber where her anxiety is ineffective. I wished it was safe to fly in the sky, what a view it would have been I can imagine. The open fields, but then again there is the destruction. I couldn’t imagine the world without raging fires not too far from where you stand, or robbery of houses and stands daily. Those things were customary now, but Mako,Bolin, and Jinora grew up in a different world. One with order and peace. I guess that is all I want for everyone, order and peace. I guess being the Avatar was a heavy set job, I was going to have to do all of that, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t afraid of my future. I knew I had big goals to accomplish, I didn’t want to let anyone down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. New Friends

I’m not sure how long we fly for, and I really needed to go to the bathroom.

“We are almost to the Eastern Air Temple, where we will begin training first thing tomorrow. The rest of the airbenders are there along with many others who live in peace. I’m sure you would have liked to take a break, but we must get you to master the elements as soon as possible,” Jinora sat at the front where she guided the bison. We were far from the earth kingdom, but not too far, I could barely see the smoke in the distance. I hope Grandpa and Grandma are safe. I wish they could have come with us.

We began to elevate, and large mountains began to appear before us. It was colder too.

“How did you manage to keep this hideout secret and safe from the Red Lotus?”

“Its hard to get through these mountains in a large airships, and we always have the upper hand up here in the air. Plus the Red Lotus no longer has their original leader, their organization is in shambles. Its perfect for us at the moment. They don’t have airbenders on their side, that and we have a lava bender to make sure they keep their distance,” Jinora says and points down. I see in the distance the red hot lava surrounding the large mountain. As far as I could see it circled around the mountain the temples laid upon.

“That’s right. I still feel sore for all of that bending,” Bolin pats his back. Hmm, so Bolin is a lava bender? I didn’t even know that was possible, but that was impressive. He’s a great bender, I can’t wait to learn earthbending. 

After a short ride through the cold mountain air we landed in the main temple. It was separated in three temples, they were connected with bridges. It is so beautiful, and hidden, not to mention safe. 

“This is the most sacred and spiritual air temple of them all.” Jinora said as she carefully landed on the plain area. Immediately we were swarmed from people of all complexions and clothing. They were all here for a different reason, they just wanted to be safe. Shira was the first one to hop off, she ran off not too far from me to go to the bathroom. I bet she was glad that we on the ground. 

“is this the avatar?”  
“Oh joy, hope has come at last!”  
“She is here, our savior!”  
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time!” 

Those were the few of many comments I heard. I slid down Appa’s legs and landed roughly on the ground. The crowd left a large circle around us, I felt like an animal on display. There used to be zoos, but those were long abandoned. 

“Mom!” I hear a someone yell. They extend their arms like birds and fly over the crowd. They wore air nomad attire, they smile and land in front of Jinora. They must be her kids. All three of them, two men and a young lady. A tall man came not too far after the kids. He had a bright smile, I bet he was Jinora’s husband. Quite a few come close to Mako, Bolin, and Jinora to greet them from their journey. They had families that waited for them. 

“Lian, I’d like to introduce to you my family,” Jinora comes over to pull me to her family. More have appeared next to her kids.

“This is my husband, Kai. And my children Rinzen, Yonten, and Satomi.” She said as she pointed from the oldest son, to the middle son, and then the youngest girl. They looked older than myself. I would think that Rinzen is in his early thirties, Yonten in his late twenties and Satomi in her early twenties. The eldest son, Rinzen, looked like Jinora in almost every bit, except for the skin color. Yonten, looked like his father’s replica. And Satomi was a blend of both. They looked so cute. I wonder if I looked like my father, or mother, or both.

“This is my sister, Ikki, and my two brothers Meelo and Rohan. And my mother Pema.” All of them were also dressed in airbending clothes. They all bowed and smiled at me. All of these airbenders are so great, it seems like their extinction was nothing but a far memory. I wasn’t around to witness it but my grandfather had many tales about that era.

“You can meet my father, Tenzin in a bit. Lets get you settled in,” Jinora says. Her kids follow us down the main hallway, but soon we were separated from the crowd.

“How many live here?”

“I believe there are a little over a hundred,” Jinora says.

“One hundred sixty three,” Rinzen says from behind. He seemed a bit serious f, but he was full of knowledge wasn’t he. Shira sniffed all of them, but since they were not a threat she lowered her guard a bit. We walked a bit and I couldn’t help but see the beautiful paintings on the walls. It was so smooth, circular, and peaceful to look at. In the wall there were statues of many airbender it looked like. Being in this temple made me feel sad, and heavy for some reason. It almost felt like I’ve been here before, but I haven’t. Maybe... maybe Korra has been here. 

“Has Avatar Korra been here before?” I ask Jinora. She smiles, but it doesn’t reacher her eyes.

“Yes, she learned how to enter the spirit world near this temple. Perhaps we should go there,” Jinora smiles and pats my back. Maybe I can connect to Korra, maybe starting with understanding what the avatar really is, then I might get a sense to what I am supposed to do. It doesn’t feel real that I am the avatar, I don’t think I know what it means. 

“My father was her guide for many things. He taught her airbending, he was her spiritual guide, and almost like a second father. She was part of our family, and now you’re part of our family too.”

“Thank you.” 

Yonten goes on ahead of us, he acted like a child more than a young man. Her kids were so different, but I’ve seen them airbend for just a bit and they are great. Her husband and herself had their tattoos, they are masters, and I can’t wait to start learning about the elements.

“You’ll be sharing a room with Opal and Bolin’s daughters. Minan and Hotaru, they are a bit older and they are very kind. Since its getting a bit crowded we share rooms. We’re planning on creating a mountain to the right and building an extension of this temple to house more refugees, but that will take some time,” She stops in front of a wood door and opens it for me. Jinora’s kids smile and bid me farewell for now and continue down the corridor. I enter the room, where two girls were sitting on a bed. They stood and bowed as I entered. 

“Avatar Lian. I am honored to share a room with you,” A young girls said. She had Bolin’s nose and beautiful colored eyes. Her skin was darker that her father’s and her hair was jet black and tied back with a pin. She wore earthbending clothes, while her sister wore airbending clothes. Their mother must be an airbender then. 

“Lian is just fine. Thank you for letting me stay with you two. I’ve never had girl friends to share a room with,” I say and hear Shira whimper. “Just Shira of course.”

“I’ll let you girls get acquainted. Lian follow these girls for dinner, after supper we’ll go meet my father.” Jinora closes the door behind Shira. It was a spacious room, with four beds, perhaps we will have another roommate soon. 

“I am Minan,” the airbender said. She didn’t have features like Bolin, she must look more like her mother, but nonetheless Minan and Hotaru were beautiful.

“And I am Hotaru, sorry I forgot to introduce my name didn’t I,” She smiles. Hotaru guides me to my chest to put my belonging. I didn’t have a nation attire like most of them here, I wasn’t wearing the suits of red and orange like the airbenders, or the green clothing of the earthbenders. I wasn’t wearing red and gray like the firebenders or blue and white like the airbender. I took notice of that and wished that I had something that made me stand a bit less. I wore all different clothings, it didn’t match at all. I smooth down my hair, I must look awful after the flying ride here. 

“Wow, what a beautiful necklace. Its a betrothal necklace from the water tribe isn’t it,” Minan says as she sits besides me. Oh, right, I did take my scarf off a while ago. 

“Yes, but I’m not betrothed to anyone. It was more like a promise. A friend of mine gave to me when we parted ways. If one day we see each other again, we’ll be able to recognize one another. Though I don’t think I’ll recognize him at first sight, his name is Kuo,” I say and take it off. I hand it Minan who held it carefully.

“So romantic,” Hotaru takes it from her sister. It was a beautiful necklace. It was carved like a blooming flower bud, floating on the water’s surface. Kuo’s father was skillful, and I bet his mother was delighted to receive it. I’m still waiting for him to appear one day before me. 

“Where do you come from Lian? How was the life when you were young? How does it feel like to be the Avatar?”

“Hotaru! Be considerate. I think she’s tired, so let her shower and rest before bombarding her with questions,” Minan scolds her younger sister. Minan seemed to act more responsible than Hotaru, even though I had a feeling Hotaru was the older sister. Though they were older than me, they felt like older sisters already. There is the loud, curious sister, and then the interested reserved, considerate sister, I was going to love sharing a room with them.

After they showed me the shower room, I changed into fresh clothes and they took me to the dining hall. It was probably the largest room in the temple, and it smelled so delicious. Hotaru and Minan guided me to the line, where others were waiting for their meals. In the closed room like this, I finally got to see the mixed cultures that lived in this temple. People from all nations sat next to one another, they talked and laughed together. This temple was once a sanctuary for air nomads, but now its a clash of cultures from all around the world. Except, I did not see water tribe clothing, there was no blue among the many colors. 

Mako was right, there was no water bending master for me to learn from. Hopefully one is rescued and brought here when I need to learn waterbending. I was served my meal and I followed Minan to a table. Hotaru said she’ll meet us later, Minan secretly told me she went to go sit with her boyfriend. Minan and I sat with Satomi and a young man I don’t know the name of yet.

“Hey Minan,” Satomi smiles and scoots over for us. 

“Lian this is my young brother Tomo, he’s an earthbender.” 

Tomo didn’t look like an earth bender, I always envisioned earthbenders to be wide and strong, more stout, but he looked slender and quiet. He only nodded his head towards me. 

“And this is Ryuu, he’s a firebender. I think he’s probably the best around,” Minan says. Ryuu didn’t wear fire nation clothes, but his features sure looked like a fire nation pupil. He had black hair, that was cut short and slightly swept to the side. His eyes were amber and his skin was light like the center of a flame. He was young, probably the closest to my age on this table. Tomo, Satomi, and Minan were all in their twenties. He looked strong and confident. 

“Don’t let Mako hear that, he gets touchy,” Satomi laughs. 

“He’s an old man, but he still got moves,” Ryuu says.

“Who says I’m an old man?” I see Mako sit next to Ryuu, and smirk. 

“I think I heard someone say it from that table. They are always talking about you,” Ryuu quickly points to the table next to us. Mako ignores him and we begin to eat.

“Lian have you ever tried bending?”

“Well I have been able to bend all the elements. My grandparents have taught me a bit of earthbending and waterbending, but I’ve never learned anything to an extent,” I tell Mako. He nods and eats his food. I’ve always knew I could bend more than one elements, but until recently I didn’t think much of it. Sure I knew I was the Avatar but it didn’t affect me, not until today. 

“We’ll start with earth tomorrow morning. Bolin isn’t much of an early riser, but he’ll pull through,” He says. By the time I finished dinner, I was nervous and excited to meet Tenzin. He was Korra’s, the previous avatar’s mentor. Perhaps he can help me understand all of this, I’m trying to get it to sink in, but it won’t.

“My grandfather can’t wait to meet you. I’ll show you to his room after you finish eating,” Satomi smiles. I nod and quickly finish my meal, I felt excited to meet Tenzin, he felt like an important person to me. Satomi helps me find my way through the hallways.

“As a child. I’ve always dreamed of what kind of person the avatar my family and friends would find and bring to the temple. For the longest time I thought it was an old man or something. I was shocked to see you. You’re like the little sister I never had. It hard having two older brothers to order you around,” She smiles. She was as kind as Jinora.

“I don’t have any siblings, so I’m glad that I have someone close to my age to talk to. Thanks Satomi.” 

“Its nothing, so this is my grandfather’s room, he’s old so he doesn’t get out of bed too often, but he can still airbend like he was young. Well that’s what he tells me,” Satomi stops in front of a door, and knocks twice before opening it. I walk in and Satomi follows too. Tenzin was sitting in bed, he put the book he read on the side table. 

“Lian. It is a pleasure finally meeting you. I’m thankful I have lived to see the next avatar well and alive,”Tenzin beckons me to get closer. I go over to his side and smile.

“Tenzin its an honor to meet you. I hope you can guide me to become a great avatar like Korra,” I say. Satomi gives me a chair to sit in before she leaves Tenzin and I to ourselves.

“You don’t have to follow Korra like a shadow. You are your own person, you are yourself before being the avatar. You’re spirit is strong, I know you’ll live long after I am gone, you know the best guide and mentor you can have is yourself.”

He was full with much wisdom, I had a familiar feeling wash over me. He sure made me feel a lot more comfortable and secure of myself.

“I hear you will begin your earthbending training tomorrow. Its the start of a great road. The world needs you Lian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am!" -Toph Beifong


	5. Blue Light

The day began before sunrise. I was awaken by Minan, she walked with me to the dining room, where I ate breakfast with her and Bolin. I was half asleep as I followed an equally sleepy Bolin outside and away from the main temple. There wasn’t much open ground space on top of a mountain, but it was better than not having any ground at all. Minan and Tomo, who joined us at the ground space, were standing off in the sideline. Okay today is the day I start training. 

“Alright Lian, I want to know what you know about earth bending,” Bolin makes a small bench for himself. 

“Well my grandpapi was an earthbender and he showed me a few things to defend myself, but I’m far from mastering the element. He told me to listen to the earth, but I never did get the hang of it.”

“That’s a good start. Earth is a strong and stubborn element. The key to earthbending is your stance. You have to listen and wait to strike at the perfect moment. You have to be strong yourself to move such a stubborn element.” 

Bolin stands up and makes a large boulder in front of him. He widens his stance and pushes the rock by stepping outward. The boulder goes sliding forward and down the mountain side.

“If you are confident in yourself. Why don’t you try it.” 

I begin by taking off my shoes, I had to feel the earth beneath me to move the rock. Bolin makes another bolder for me, a bit smaller and stands back. I copy his the horse stance and dig my toes into the dirt. I clench my fist and visualize the boulder and push it with all of my strength. I see the rock move across the field, it doesn’t roll down the mountainside like Bolin, but it went further than I expected it to.

“Great job, it seems like your grandfather taught you the basics well. Lets try this a bit more, every time you push a boulder down the mountainside the size will only get bigger.” 

Bolin made me push the boulder down the mountainside until it seemed like I have been doing it for days. I was covered in sweat by the time he gave me a break. I’ve managed to push boulders dozen times my size, my muscles were tired. I wasn’t in shape to be pushing boulders for hours. 

“You’re doing great Lian,” Minan says as I sit under the shade of a tree.

“I hope we can have a dual soon,” Tomo says quietly and gives me a water bottle. I thank him and take gulps of the fresh beverage. 

“I’m far from taking on a battle. How long do you think it will take for me to master earthbending?” 

“Depends on how much you work at it. Why? Eager to take down the red lotus?” Bolin grabs a seat next to me. 

“I never thought about the wellbeing of the world before I was contacted with white lotus. Now it seems like the red lotus is just another fire nation and this chaos in like the hundred year war. They want control and havoc, and that is a world I don’t want to live in anymore. So I want to master the elements as quickly as I can so I can stop this time.”

 

“Wow you are very wise and brave. I’m sure with that sense of mind you will master the elements quickly.” Minan pats my back and smiles. 

“Alright lets get back to work Lian,” Bolin stretches and gets up from the ground. I stretch the soreness away and follow him.

“For the next exercise you’ll have to use the ground beneath us to your advantage.” 

Bolin covers himself in rocks, like an armor and makes a line in the dirt between us. He scoots meters away from the line and I do the same.

“The objective is to push me on the other side of the line. Simple, lets get on with it.” Bolin states from afar. He glides above the ground towards me and I run towards him too. I push his shoulders with all of my strength, but I felt myself slide back. I grit my teeth and dig my feet into the ground, I make it move to my will, like the way I wanted the earth to move. It keeps me from sliding further and used the ground to push myself forward. Slowly, it felt, I pushed Bolin, I looked down at my feet, the line was so close. I thought I was close to my limits before, but I somehow pushed harder. 

“Go Lian!” I hear Minan yell from the sidelines. I push Bolin to the other side of the line, and sigh in relief. Bolin chuckles and lets his armor fall.

“I see you used the earth to your will, you are a natural earthbender I must say. You’ll get this element mastered in no time,” Bolin smiles and shows me more exercises to work on.

By the end of the day I felt like I was hit with hundreds of rocks, which wasn’t entirely a lie either. Earth was all about the neutral jing, listen and strike. He told me once of Toph the greatest earthbender, and the first metal bender of the world. I didn’t know of her until now, my grandpapi didn’t tell me much about her. I knew she taught Avatar Aang earthbending, but she must have been amazing. Not to mention blind, she was the perfect person to teach about listening and striking. If she was still around, I wonder if she would have taught me.

Minan, Tomo and I walk to the cafeteria to eat, I probably have never felt as hungry as I was now, not even in the streets. My muscles ached but I happily sat and ate with Tomo and Minan. Not too long after we were joined by Ryuu and Satomi.

“Oh boy you looked beat. How’d it go?” Satomi asks me.

“It was hard to get hit by rocks, but I’m beginning to get the hang of it.” 

“She’s a fast and diligent learner. She gets the concept faster than Tomo here, I think the way she’s going, she’ll be able to kick his butt soon,” Minan spoke and teased her brother. Tomo rolls his eyes and sticks rice into his mouth.

After dinner I see Shiru running around chasing and playing with a few children. She loved to play around. She sees me and comes running my way. I haven’t been away from her for an entire day, it seems longer than a day. She came nuzzling to my side, I’m glad to see that she is happy to see me too, even if she is having a lot of fun with the kids.

“Did you eat already Shiru?”

She nodded her head, as if she actually understood what I said. Maybe she did. This temple was a paradise, they took care of everyone here, even Shiru. I petted her and went to the washrooms. I was already beginning to feel the soreness of my muscles as I washed my hair. What I said out there earlier came back to mind, would I really be ready to become the Avatar the world needs me to be? I was just a teenager, no more wise than a monkey, and no stronger than a limp noodle. I was just one person of millions, how could just one teen make such a difference in the world. I was a speck of sand compared to the world. I can’t do much of a difference, not with an organization as great as the red lotus. There was no way. Thanks to my self doubt I felt even more drained as I made my way back to my room. I didn’t know much of the Red Lotus, I didn’t want to fight blindly. Though it didn’t stop Toph from learning, no that is no excuse for me either. 

Perhaps Tenzin can help me understand the Red Lotus a little better. I knocked on his door, but there was no answer. I make myself open the door, but see that his room is empty. Where could he be? I thought he was always in his room, since he was, you know old. 

“He’s in the meditation circle right now,” Mako and Ryuu came walking down the hall. The two firebenders moved much alike, they didn’t look similar, but their firebending personality sure burned the same way. But I didn’t tell them that, they would only get annoyed and try to deny it. 

“I need to talk to him, do you mind showing me where that is?” 

“Need a little mentor session with Tenzin?” Mako asked and led the way down the hall. I guess you could say that, I felt like Tenzin has always been a close friend to me, I could trust him with my worries. After all he was Korra’s guide, in a way he is mine too. 

Mako, Ryuu and I walked some distance away from the temple, the wilderness and quietness was what made it so serene. No other place in the world could you find a peaceful organized community like this, they were all dismantled by the Red Lotus as soon as they formed, but this one has survived somehow.

“I hear you are doing great in earth bending, perhaps you will become a better earthbender than Tomo,” Mako says, and pats my back. It looked like he liked to tease his nephew.

“Well I am long way from mastering that is for sure.”

“Tomo is the prodigy of the family. Hotaru and Tomo are earthbenders, while his other kids, Kala, Minan, and San are airbenders. He spent a lot of time teaching Tomo and Hotaru earthbending, but Tomo picked it up quicker than any kid I have ever seen. He easily mastered earthbending, both traditional and improv techniques. If you can learn as well as him, like I hear, earthbending will be an easy element to learn,” Mako says as he spoke of his nephew. Tomo was quiet, but I never knew he was so talented. He must only be a few years older than me, and he already mastered earthbending. 

“You know Mako, your brother sure had a lot of kids. Why did you never have any?” Ryuu asked and looked up at the sky like he wasn’t interested, even though he just asked a questioned. Mako took his time to respond to that question. I was curious too, even though he is old, and aging, I imagine Mako young. He wasn’t ugly I would believe, why didn’t he want to start a family like Bolin.

“I never had the time to put myself first. Someone taught me that to help the world, sometimes putting others first is the ultimate sacrifice. To be selfless you have to strong and courageous. I decided to take that path and try to put the world in balance with others, but that ultimately failed. So I began to look for the Avatar. Now look at me, I’m old and far from my prime age, but I’m not lonely. I have Bolin and my cousins to keep me company,” Mako said with a smile. I knew it wasn’t a genuine one, but I didn’t ask more from him. We saw Tenzin sitting on the ground, along with his four children, who were all looked relaxed and focused. I didn’t know how, but they seemed at peace. Satomi, Yonten, and Rinzen sat there too, almost the entire family meditated with their grandfather, Tenzin. 

“Come join us, Lian,” Tenzin says. I didn’t know what to do, but I quietly left Ryuu and Mako’s side to go sit next to Satomi and Rinzen. I copied their actions, and I felt a rush of nothing, before I felt familiarity. I’ve been here before, in some lifetime. My weight felt as it was lifted and I felt as if I could fly off into the sky at any moment, but at the same time I have never felt so close to the elements before. The emotions and memories rushed into my head, before I could comprehend what was going on, soon I saw nothing but blue light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When love is real, it finds a way." - Avatar Roku


	6. Unexpected Changes

Visions, that is what they were. Visions from another life, from Korra. The moment she showed the white lotus that she was the avatar “and you better deal with it.”

Her childhood and teenage years were spent training and living in the snow cold tribe of the south pole. I saw the memory of her first ride on Naga. I somehow knew her polarbear dog name. I could feel the cold wind nip at my face as I rode her through the ice tundra. Wow, I’ve never felt so free in my entire life. My laugh rang through the empty space, but it wasn’t my own. It was Korra’s.

“Lian, we finally meet,” Korra’s voice rang inside my head. Her memories disappear and I see her. Avatar Korra was beautiful and bright. She had a smile on her face and her hair in ponytails. Besides her were four small children, all different ages, but no older than ten years old. My heart sank, they must be the avatars before me. They were killed young by the red lotus. 

“ You’re Avatar Lian! Hi my name is Baku. And these are the three Avatars before you. Kabu, Mara, and Nala. You’re pretty,” the little boy, Baku said. He had the features of an earth citizen. The other three were quiet and scared. They were just little kids, they looked like four and five year olds. 

“They keep me company. But it is sad to see that these Avatars were killed so young. I’m very happy that you have grown older to master the elements and defeat the Red Lotus. It will be a very difficult year for you, Lian, but we are here to help you if we can.” Korra patted Nala’s head. She looked the youngest. 

“How am I in here, is this the spirit world?”

“You can say that. You’re currently in the avatar state. Its where you can connect to your past avatars, and ask for assistance if you need it. Its a great tool of power, but it has its weakness. I learned from experience,” Korra grimaced but showed me her memory. 

Korra was tied to chains and watched in horror as the metal got closer to her they were going to end the cycle. 

“If you are killed while you are in the Avatar State then the cycle is over. But as you can see, these four were not in the avatar state and you’re here.”

“Why didn’t they use that metal liquid to end it like they tried to do to you? I don’t understand.”

“Its hard to control. And a very rare resource. I don’t think the can extract anymore, not with the metal clan of Zhaofu extinguished,” Baku said. He showed me his memory of the time when he ran through the streets of the metal clan, he played with a piece of metal. He was a bending genius at such a young age. The bell rang in alarm, Baku began to run towards home but fireballs were falling from the sky. The Red Lotus were here to ruin their community. 

“Baku, run get out of here. They are after you,” Baku’s older sister yelled. Baku didn’t know why they were after him, but they were, and he couldn’t run like his sister told him to. He wanted to see mom and dad. By the time he got home, his mother and father have been slaughtered, and men in red stood before their bodies. They captured Baku and the last thing he remembered was the scream of his sister. Next time Baku woke he was sitting next to Korra.

“I tried to help Baku, but I lost my sense of spirits and Raava when I was poisoned. Without the current avatar sensing Raava its difficult for pasts avatars to help.Similar things happened to the other three. I couldn’t help them, but once you get in touch with Raava, the avatar spirit, you’ll be a true avatar,” Korra smiled and gave me one of her most precious memory. 

When she lost her connections to the elements, her past avatars gave her the connection to them. It felt enlightening, and relieving to know that she was the avatar once again. Korra loved being the avatar, and if she had a choice she would always choose to be the avatar, no matter the outcome. I watched as if I stood there at that time and saw Korra enter the avatar state and bend all of the elements. In awe I felt the sensation of bending run through me. This is what Korra felt then. 

I watched as Korra ran to a young man. They hugged and I sheepishly watched as they kissed. The memory faded quickly. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to show you that part.”

“Wait a minute. Was that Mako. He looks just like him, but older and gray. You and Mako!” I pointed out. I watched as Korra’s cheeks turned red, it was him. Woah, no wonder Mako took great care in guiding the avatar. 

“The greatest part of being the avatar Lian is knowing you’re able to help others, even if it your job. If I could have lived longer than I would have stopped the Red Lotus a long time ago. I’m sorry for letting you take the heat of my failures. This is beginning to look like the second 100 year war. The Red Lotus no longer have the same objective they once had, now they want to destroy the world and rebuild it in their command.” Korra said in seriousness.

“You have to stop them!” Kabu said with enthusiasm. How could I saw no to these four and Korra. I had to make their sacrifice into something. 

“Hm, I will stop them once I master of the elements. I promise,” I said. They all smiled and I felt my vision of my world begin to come back. I regained my vision and saw everyone sitting in front of me, with wide eyes and Tenzin with a comforting smile.

“You-You just entered the avatar state. How did you do that?” Ryuu asked in wonder. His face was close to mine, almost as if I was an alien he was inspecting. Mako grabbed his collar and yanked him back.

“I think its because Korra has been here that the familiarity welcomed me.”

“Yes, that and because this ground is very spiritual and connected to Korra. It is great to see that you are aware of your past Lian,” Tenzin said.

“I met Korra and the four past avatars. Baku, Kabu, Mara, and Nala. They were just kids, if Baku heard me he would tell me to shut up,” I said, but my heart still ached for them. Being the avatar now was dangerous and not honorable at all. 

“I have to connect with Raava once again to be able to go in and out of the avatar state. I know now the power it can hold. I want to master all of the elements quickly so we can stop this. This is becoming another 100 year war.”

“Yes it is. But worry not, we will prepare you,” Tenzin said. 

“Jinora, Tenzin, and Satomi are the few of many airbenders who have a very close connection with the spirits,” Mako says from behind. 

“Once you’re freed of your doubts, fears, and hatred. You will be able to enter the spirit world and the avatar state without any difficulties.” Tenzin says. Jinora and Satomi sat in front of me, while everyone else got up and left the four of us by ourselves. 

“I could feel your chakra points tense and a few are closed off. Without properly opening them you can’t enter the avatar state at will. We can begin opening the chakra points, but once we begin we can’t stop. We have to complete all seven chakra points. Would you like to do that today?” Jinora asked. I nodded, there was no doubt that this was needed to be done as soon as possible. There is no point in prolonging it. 

“Very well. My father Avatar Aang had to go through a similar process like this and Korra had to ask for assistance from her worst fear. You can do it, Lian.” Tenzin got up and sat on a rock near us. 

“The first chakra point is called the earth chakra. It deals with survival and is blocked by fear. When it comes to opening chakras, you meditate and see your fear. Breathe and relax, they are just your visions. Once you overcome your greatest fear than you can move onto the second point,” Tenzin said. 

I sat and mimicked Satomi’s stance. It was awkward at first but I relaxed into the position. When it came to meditating, I just have to breathe and let my mind roam free. But I found that to be harder than I thought. I slowed my breathing and almost fell asleep right there. After what seemed like a few minutes I felt a little ache ring through my head and I am summoned to a deep part of my mind. 

 

I stood there facing my deepest fear. I was a child again, and my heart was beating at a thousands miles per hour. Two tall figures were standing in the dark, but their eyes glowed with hatred. I screamed and tried to run away. I knew this memory, the memory of the first time someone found me bending the elements. I thought I had forgotten about it, but I didn’t. It was hiding in the deepest part of my head. All I thought about during that first attack was I had to survive no matter what. I had too. I wanted to live even if it was just for one more day. I ran away from the two adults. My bare feet slushed in the wet ground, and my black hair had fallen from a ponytail I somehow made on myself. 

“You can’t escape us! We’ll find you one day, Avatar!” They yelled. 

I blinked and gasped as I regained my senses. I was drenched in sweat when I realized that my memory was over. Jinora handed me a towel to wipe the sweat away from my face. Tenzin smiled a bit. 

“The first point has opened, do you feel any different?” He asked me. I nodded. I did feel a bit lighter. 

“The fear that hid in the green iris of your eyes disappeared. They are clear as they should have been. It is okay to have fear in your life, but you can’t let that control you,” Tenzin said. Satomi handed me a green mixture in a coconut husk. I drank a bit and spit it out. What the heck is this?

“Its seaweed and moonpeaches. Its great.”

“How did you get seaweed all the way out here?”

“Well I smelled like seaweed when I found it out in the mountains. So I called it seaweed. I don’t really know what it is, but it isn't harmful. That’s my favorite drink,” She explained. I handed the weird drink back to her. I would rather be thirsty than drink that. 

“The next chakra point is the water chakra. It deals with pleasure and is blocked with guilty. What do you blame yourself for?” 

I closed my eyes and readied myself for another vision trip. This one was initiated faster than the first one. I watched from a cloud down on Ba Sing Se, the city was ablaze. I heard screams and cries. I watched as the Red Lotus brought down yet another city. It tore families apart. This was my fault wasn’t it. If only I accepted the idea of being the Avatar quickly. Mother cried and fathers fought back, but all was hopeless. I felt my heart squeeze at the sight and I was brought back to reality. 

My tears fall onto my lap as I get my senses back.

“If only I accepted my duty as the avatar than perhaps this world wouldn’t have to go through this.”

“This isn’t your fault Lian. This is no one’s fault. Let it go and embrace what could be. You have a bright future ahead of you to change it,” Jinora said. I nodded, she was right. I could change it if I tried. She patted my back and smiled. 

“If you’re ready then lets go to the fire chakra. It deals with willpower and is blocked with shame. What are you ashamed of Lian?” Tenzin asked me. I sighed, there were many things I was ashamed of. I was ashamed of trying to not be the avatar. 

“I am ashamed of running away from my duties. I am ashamed to face the people, because I know I have let them down. I am ashamed of leaving the people to fend for themselves while I lived for myself,” I said feeling a pit in my stomach. 

“I must have the willpower to accept your wrongdoings. You are the avatar, Lian and that will always be a heavy responsibility but you are not alone. No one blames you for any of this, and the people are very happy to hear that the Avatar has returned. You must accept your duties, then you will no longer be shameful of yourself.” 

I nodded, he was right. I can change the wrongdoing now. I just have to take matters into my own hands and not be afraid to make mistakes. I felt a click in myself and a relief. Tenzin nodded and smiled. I opened another chakra point.

“Next chakra deals with love and is blocked by grief, what pain do you feel when you think about your loved ones,” Jinora asked me. I took a deep breath and thought about my grandparents and the pain of missing them. I loved them very much especially for taking the risk of raising me. I thought about a friend I had long ago. He gave me the necklace and promised we’d see each other one day. Kuo was out there somewhere maybe he was looking for me right now, just like he promised. I felt a few tears run down my cheek. I missed them terribly. 

“Know that they are still besides you every moment. Distance is an illusion, they love you very much. You’re not alone,” Tenzin said. He was right though, Grandma and Grandpapi were right here with me. Their love for me was as strong as if I really did share their blood. 

“Are you ready for the next chakra?” Satomi asked me. I nodded. 

“Well the next chakra deals with the truth and is blocked with lies. What is a lie you are ashamed of?”

“I’ve been lying about myself. I’ve told myself that I’m not the avatar. That no one needs to know who I am because I’m not important. I wanted to just disappear without anyone noticing my true nature.”

“You can’t lie about your true nature, Lian. You’ve accepted your destiny about being the Avatar, if not you wouldn’t be here right now. You can still live happily with your loved one and be one with your true nature.” 

I nodded and a vision came into my mind without a warning. I found myself looking at a beautiful picture. I looked down at the earth kingdom from a tall point somewhere. I could see the beautiful kingdom. It was green and luscious. There were no rings anymore. We were all living with one another in harmony. The sky was blue and smoke free. I saw airbenders flying in the sky with freedom. They were free to roam without the danger of being killed. It was a beautiful future that I hope will come.

“We have two more chakra to open, we’re almost there.” 

I wanted get this over with as quickly as soon. If I want to become the Avatar that the world deserves. 

“This is about insight, which is blocked by illusion. Sometime your understanding is blocked by illusions. I have learned that the greatest illusion is the illusion of separation. In this world we believe that everything is separated and different when in fact it is not.The greatest example of this concept are the bending of elements. The four elements are part of a whole. The avatar is a perfect image of this. It you the four elements become one. Difference and separation only lies in the mental state of every person on this earth. Other than that, we are all connected to one another one way or another.”

I looked around and saw the face of my friends. We were all connected one way or another. If we are separated, we will always be connected. It didn’t matter what nationality were are from or what element we can or can’t bend. Realizing that, I felt much more secured and glad that I am part of a family. A family so big that is grows everyday when a child is born. 

I felt the chakra point on my forehead open. It felt as if I could see a lot more things now. I realized how fortunate I am to have these friends guiding me to become a wonderful avatar. 

“We will begin the last chakra.” Jinora said. We were interrupted by a loud rumble. I felt the earth beneath my bottom shake viciously. What is this? What’s going on? Were Bolin and Tomo having another spar. I saw Kai fly quickly to us. He was out of breath. Fear was written on his face. 

“Red Lotus. They are attacking. They know the Avatar is here.” 

My heart sank as I heard those words. They’ve found me so quickly, but how. I saw the smoke and dust of our surrounding mountains crumble. They weren’t too far. I thought it was difficult to get up here in this mountain side. 

“If we stop the chakra opening now, it’ll be nearly impossible to open it once again.” Satomi said quickly. My heart was racing. 

“The most important thing right now, is to get Lian out of here. This won’t be a safe place anymore. Satomi, Ryuu, take Lian to the bisons. Tomo will join you there. You three will be her teachers, this is the only way to make sure she is in safe hands.” Jinora pushed me to my feet. I stumbled but Ryuu grabbed my arm. Satomi’s face was stern but she nodded shortly. I can tell it was hard for her to not protest. 

“Come on Lian. Come to your senses. We have to get out of here.”

“But we can’t just leave the rest of them here like that! We can fight back!” I said quickly. All of these people wouldn’t die, right? The Red Lotus wouldn’t kill all of these people. Ryuu kept his hold on me and dragged me with him. We ran to the other side of the building. Mako and Jinora were on our tails. 

We made it to the bisons, and not too far I saw the rock hard mountains being destroyed as if they were as soft as sand. Who ever was doing that, they were amazing. I saw Tomo waiting impatiently by the bisons. He had packs ready on the bison’s back.

“Tomo is everything ready?” Mako asked. Tomo nodded and climbed onto the bison. 

“I can’t just leave this place. I can’t keep running from danger. I’m the avatar.”

“Lian. Right now you’re just learning the elements. You’re life is in danger, and you can’t protect it. We have to get you to safety and train. Then we can fight back. Just get on the bison.” Ryuu said roughly. 

“But what about the rest of these people? What about Master Tenzin?” He wasn’t at the age where he could move on and about like he used to.

“We are evacuating as we speak. All of them will get out safely. Now take care of each other. We’ll try to stay in contact with one another someway, but for now just lay low and teach Lian her bending. You three are the best benders we know,” Jinora said to us. I watched Shira run my way. I wasn’t going to leave her behind, not over my dead body. Tomo helps Shira get on the bison. Satomi helps me get on, and I watched with a pained heart the panic run through the temple. Please let all of them escape. Satomi sat on the front and we lifted to the sky. Shira whimpered and sat next to me. 

“Don’t worry Lian. We’ll get out of here. I know when we'll meet again you’ll have advanced as the avatar. We’ll see all of you soon,”Mako smiled sadly. I nodded and didn’t speak. It was hard to keep my emotions in check.

I felt like yelling in anger. Is this all I am capable of doing? I’m just running away from danger and leaving others to deal with my problems. What kind of avatar am I?

“What’s going to happen to the air temple?” I said to them. No one answered. That beautiful and spiritual temple was going to be ruined wasn’t it.

“It isn’t your fault. Its just unfortunate that they figured out where you were. Right now, we have to get somewhere safe before we continue your training. Learning the elements is the most important thing right now. Otherwise, there is no one who can stop the Red Lotus,” Satomi said from out front. I knew it was probably the hardest on her to leave everything behind. She was connected to that temple, after all she was deeply connected with the spirits. 

We flew quickly through the sky. Unfortunately there weren’t any clouds in the sky today to help us hide. I looked down at the ground there was a small hoard of red lotus on mongoose lizards. Those things were keeping up with us. 

“Guys,” I say in shock as I see large pieces of rocks and fireballs being thrown our way.

“Satomi!” Ryuu yelled.

“I got it! Just keep those things from hitting us. I’ll try to lose them.” She yelled and took a hard turn left. I held onto the saddle of the flying bison with one hand and on Shira with the other. Tomo and Ryuu were having a hard time standing but they managed to change to path of a few fireballs and earth pieces from hitting us. I wished I was able to help them in someway. Ryuu was the younger of the two, but he was just as skilled as Satomi and Tomo. It was incredible to see that at such a young age he was able to do so many great things. He is able to fight back with others, while I sat here and watched. Satomi goes higher into the sky, where it was harder to throw the things the enemy was throwing at us. 

“There is a mountain range just ahead of us. Tomo do you think that you’ll be able to do something with that? Make a few obstacles for them to get distracted with?” Satomi said. The quiet earthbender nodded. He was skilled enough to move the earth hundreds of feet away, without touching it? Minan told me about how advanced Tomo was. He helped Bolin create a few protection mountains around the temple. She told me that he first learned how to bend before he learned to talk. Earthbending was what he knew how to do best.

 

We got closer to the mountains, and Satomi lowered our altitude. It was dangerous being closer to the flying fireballs but Ryuu took care of most of them. I watched as Tomo jumped from the bison’s back. What the heck is he thinking? We are still a long way from the ground. 

“He’s not someone to get hurt from landing on the ground. With what he’s going to do, he’s going to need to be real in touch with earth.” Ryuu said as he took down a fireball. I looked at the area where Tomo landed, he looked so small, but he was moving. He skated along the ground as if it was an extension of his body. He moved so fluently. It was beautiful to watch. 

At the base of the mountains, he stopped and I watched the ground between him and our pursuers fall. Tomo moved his hands and created a deep and wide abyss. The Red Lotus stopped at the edge of the abyss. They wouldn’t think of taking the chance of jumping it. They wouldn’t make it, not unless they had an airbender on their side. 

“What are we going to do with that Earth bender on their side. They can create something to get over the abyss,” I said. It would keep them occupied for a bit, but they would get over it. 

“Their earth bender isn’t skilled enough to do that. I’ve seen the way he moves the earth, he wasn’t taught and he jerks the earth like its a toy. The elements won’t listen to the bender if it isn’t listened to first. He won't be able to hold multiple boulders to get over,” Satomi said from the front. 

Wow, she knew that by his form. I was surprised she knew so much about other elements other than air. Maybe she knows a bit of water, that can get me started on it, and maybe Korra can help me learn it. I am connected to her after all. 

We lowered behind the mountain range, where Tomo stood, waiting for us. We lowered enough for him to project off the ground and fall into the saddle. I can’t believe he just did that on his own. 

“We’ll lose them in a bit. We’ll go over the ocean, they don’t have ships with them, so they won’t be able to track us,” Satomi said from the front. She was panting a bit. I pet Shira, she was shaken up by the entire ordeal.

“Where are we headed?” Ryuu asked as he rummaged through a pack. 

“Anywhere but the temples. They’ll expect us there.”

I gasped as I saw Ryuu’s hand. It was burned. He must have injured it while he redirected the attacks. I moved over to him. This was all my fault. He tried to hide it from me, but he knew I already saw it. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Its nothing,” he said. I bit my lip and tried to keep my frown from appearing. 

“Stop making that face. All of this negative chakra can’t be good for the opening chakra process. If you want to make it up you can help me put a bandage on it.”

I grabbed the cloth and applied an antidote he found in the pack. I carefully wrapped the cloth around his hand. Next time, I promise to help fight back and protect my friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The greatest illusion of the world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we all live divided"- Guru Pathik

**Author's Note:**

> "I'm just one kid."- Avatar Aang.


End file.
